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BYU PATHWAY WORLDWIDE
Confidentiality of Student Records (FERPA)
“The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that affords parents the right to have access to their children’s education records, the right to seek to have the records amended, and the right to have some control over the disclosure of personally identifiable information from the education records. When a student turns 18 years old or enters a postsecondary institution at any age, the rights under FERPA transfer from the parents to the student (“eligible student”). The FERPA statute is found at 20 U.S.C. § 1232g and the FERPA regulations are found at 34 CFR Part 99.”
What is FERPA
What is FERPA
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a U.S. federal law (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) that protects the privacy of student education records. It gives eligible students (anyone 18 or older, or enrolled in postsecondary education) three key rights:
Inspect and review their education records within 45 days of a valid request.
Request to amend records they believe are inaccurate or misleading.
Control disclosure of personally identifiable information, except in cases where FERPA allows release without consent (such as to school officials with a legitimate educational interest).
BYU-Pathway Worldwide fully complies with FERPA for students enrolled in BYU-Idaho and Ensign College online programs.
The Support Team & FERPA
The Support Team & FERPA
PathwayConnect’s Confidentiality of Student Records protects the privacy of student records. BYU-Pathway Support team protects more information than the regular FERPA Policy. This is to ensure the safety and protection of the student and his/her education records. It is of utmost importance that we adhere to the FERPA standards. We need to verify that the person we are talking to is authorized to access the student's information. This is especially important if you work with the Phone Support Team or have any direct interaction with students. Always ensure the student’s identity is verified in the Reach system before sharing any information. The same applies if a third party requests information about a specific student -- do not share any details unless proper consent has been granted.
WHY DO WE NEED TO WORRY ABOUT THIS?
WHY DO WE NEED TO WORRY ABOUT THIS?
Every student interaction we have that involves a specific student and anything on their student profile or account needs to be verified (when interacting with students over the phone or email).
Most of the time, it will be the student reaching out to us, but occasionally there will be someone else (a parent, missionary, friend, etc.)
They cannot access any FERPA-protected information without the permission of the student or without the FERPA identifier.
This is because the student is over 18 years old and therefore is the only person who legally has rights to their personal information.
If the student would like to give access to anyone other than themselves, they will need to fill out a 3rd party release form or use portal consent.
FERPA IS IMPORTANT!
FERPA IS IMPORTANT!
BYU Pathway Worldwide takes the confidentiality of our students very seriously. Therefore, it is important we do our part as agents in the Pathway Support Center to follow the FERPA laws closely. We do not want to give out the student's personal information to anyone who is not verified to receive it.
FERPA at BYU-Pathway Worldwide
Personal data is managed under the Privacy Notice – BYU-Pathway Worldwide (2024-03-01) and the Church Global Privacy Notice.
Matriculated BYU-Idaho/Ensign students are also covered by their respective college privacy notices.
Consent via Portal
Students can grant a third party access directly in the portal:
My Profile > Privacy Settings > Consent > Add Person.
This is the fastest method and replaces paper forms for most cases.
FERPA CHECK PROCESS
FERPA CHECK PROCESS
Possible Verification Questions
Student ID
Date of Birth
Middle Name
Primary Phone Number
Mailing Address
Personal Email Address
Courses Currently Registered
Tip: Always try to obtain the Student ID number, as it's the most secure form of verification. If the student doesn't know their ID, guide them to find it in their student portal.
When to FERPA Check
Verify identity before sharing:
Information specific to the student
Tuition Due
Courses the student is registered for
Grades
GPA
Personal Information
Email Addresses
Phone Numbers
Anything Found in Anthology Student or Reach
When FERPA Checking Is Unnecessary
No verification needed for:
General Information Found on Website
Dates and Deadlines
Tuition Price Per Country
Degrees We Offer
Help Center Articles
Known Issues
How-To Videos
FERPA Checking Over Phone Calls
During an outbound call, we must verify if the person we are talking to is the student. To do that, we ask a quick question that says: "Because you are a BYU-PathwayConnect student (…), what is your phone number, email address, and birth date?" After the student provides their answers, verify the information in Anthology Student or Reach, which should already be open and ready before the call begins. If we find that everything is correct, we continue to assist the student. If one of the answers is incorrect, we ask another identifying question, like their student ID number, home address, etc.
If you are calling a student through Google Meet, Teams, or Zoom:
FERPA checks the student at the beginning of the call before you begin helping them.
Refer to the call script below
After greeting the student and introducing yourself, ask them 3 FERPA questions. Examples are given in the script.
REMEMBER!!!
Be sure you...
Ask 3 FERPA verifying questions
Make sure every aspect of the information they give us matches. For example, if we ask for the name of a student's stake and they say "Ontario" but the information in Path 2.0 says "Ontario Oregon Stake" it doesn't pass the FERPA check. If this happens, please ask the student to clarify or ask a different FERPA question.
The QA Team checks to make sure we are FERPA-checking students correctly. It is important we follow the FERPA law closely and check the students we are in contact with over chat and before calling them.
How Do Students Use the Consent Feature in Privacy Settings?
The Consent Feature allows them to authorize a person or entity (e.g., parent, employer, bank, or other institution) to access their academic information.
To use this feature, they must:
Specify a start date and an end date for the information-sharing period.
What Is an Active or Inactive Record Under the Consent Feature?
Active Record: A person or entity currently authorized to access your information.
Inactive Record: A "consent to share information" record that has expired. The student's information will no longer be shared with the person or entity listed on an expired consent form.
WHAT TO DO IF SOMEONE OTHER THAN THE STUDENT CONTACTS US
If a third party (instructors and mentors are also considered third-party) contacts us requesting information about a student’s account, do the following:
Answer general PathwayConnect questions to the best of your ability, but do not give any information about the student’s account. Do not say, "I cannot give you any information" but instead say, "I cannot give you the student's personal information, but I will help you as best I can with the situation"
Ask if the third party would like a Release Form (used for the student to give someone else access to his/her education records/information). Refer to the article PC - Confidentiality of Student Records 3rd Party Release Form
Mentors can also reach out to their Mentor Training Lead for further assistance
INFORMATION WE CAN SHARE WITH STUDENT'S PATHWAYCONNECT MISSIONARIES
Student name
Home and local address
Telephone numbers
E-mail addresses
Dates of attendance (current and past)
Religious affiliation to local church or congregation
Photograph (if applicable)
Number of months/semesters enrolled
Total credit hours earned
Anticipated future enrollments
Course registrations prior to the beginning of a semester/term
Number of months/semesters enrolled
Class standing (freshman, sophomore, etc.)
Enrollment status (full-time, part-time, less than half-time)
Deferred registration eligibility
The above information is considered directory information and may be shared with Missionaries and Mentors. Any information not found in the list above is considered private, and under PathwayConnect’s Confidentiality of Student Records and should not be shared.
WE CAN NOT GIVE THE FOLLOWING INFO TO THE STUDENT, MISSIONARIES, OR 3RD PARTY
Grades
Teach students how to access their grades through byupathway.edu if they ask, but do not discuss their grades with them.
Payments
Direct students to their payment page on byupathway.org. We should not give out financial information about a student to anyone but the student unless they have filled out a 3rd party release form to give another individual access to their records.
Missionaries Contact Information (for Students & 3rd Party contacts)
Teach students how to access their missionaries' contact information on portal.byupathway.edu/ under their "My Success Team" tab
Impersonating the student's portal can be helpful when you are walking them through how to access the above information.
HOLDS ON STUDENT'S ACCOUNTS
Students can update their privacy settings on byupathway.edu, which may limit how much the BYU-Pathway Support Center can help them.
Full Restriction
If a student has a FULL confidentiality restriction, the BYU-Pathway Support Center may not assist the student or discuss the student's information unless they are physically present. We would need to say, “We do not have any record of you. However, I still may be able to help you. What is your question?”
Partial Restriction
If a student has a PART confidentiality restriction, BYU-Pathway Support Center may mention that they are enrolled, but not talk about any details of the student's account unless they are physically present.
No Restriction
If a student has no restriction, make sure he/she passes the 3-step verification first. After, you may talk about the student's account and details with the student.
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